As You Were
by Ishuzu
Summary: Set after Book Five. Yukari and Hiro go to the Christmas party and the gang's all here. But Parakiss isn't complete without one very important member. One-shot


Disclaimer: No, I do not own Paradise Kiss. If I did, though, the series probably wouldn't have ended... Y_Y  
  
Created with the help of Ai Yazawa's brilliance, too much Coke and "Just the Way I'm Feeling" (Feeder), "Save Tonight" (Eagle Eye Cherry), "Everybody Loves You Now" (Billy Joel) and "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston).  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Yukari tried to swallow the mysterious lump in her throat as the car pulled up in front of the Nagase household. Her dark eyes fell over the lavish home, three stories, two-car garage, pink flamingo by the hedges. Yukari smiled a little at the faint snow that sprinkled on the small lawn decoration. "Merry Christmas" was written on the roof in little, white Christmas lights and she felt as if she could almost smell the hot cider steaming inside.  
  
"Yukari?" Hiro's voice helped her return to the present.   
  
"Oh... I just..." She smiled again and let out a ringing laugh. "I never pictured Arashi living in such a picture-perfect, cozy little home."   
  
Hiro chuckled and said, "Yes... well, contrary to popular belief, Arashi has always wanted this stable, home-y atmosphere..."  
  
"Really?!" Yukari stared, aghast, at her fiancé. He shrugged. "Well, yes... Or so my psychiatric senses tell me."   
  
The dark-haired girl in the passenger seat laughed again and Hiro got out and walked around to open her door. As they neared the door, Yukari clutched the bottle of liquor she'd brought, more for nerve's sake than fear that someone would come along and snatch it away. Hiro rang the doorbell and Yukari took in a deep breath. She'd kept track with Miwako for years; always emailing and calling regularly. It had been a long time since they'd actually come face-to-face, but seeing her old friend again wasn't what worried Yukari. She felt completely apprehensive, but couldn't say why.   
  
The door opened and Yukari's doubts and nagging thoughts instantly disappeared for the time being. Miwako, hardly looking a day past eighteen and dressed in flowing, red and white chiffon, was standing right in front of her, beaming from ear to ear.   
  
"...CAROLINE!!!!" The still pink-haired woman threw her arms around Yukari and hugged her tight. Yukari reciprocated the embrace and laughed until tears came to her eyes.   
  
"MIWAKO!"   
  
They both heard Hiro snicker the slightest bit, out of love for both girls. Miwako then threw her small arms about Hiro's neck and laughed, crying,   
  
"MIWAKO MISSED YOU BOTH SO MUCH!"   
  
Miwako had stopped talking about herself in the third person for the most part as she'd gotten older but something about old friends always brought out the young girl in her. Now, Alice did it some but she was getting ready to graduate from high school (Yaza Arts, of course) and begin a career as a pattern designer.   
  
"God, you'd think that some bloody rock star-pouf had just walked in the door... Let 'em breathe, Miwako..."   
  
Yukari's eyes glistened when she saw Arashi in a plaid suit, his hair still spiky and a force to be reckoned with, leaning against the front hall doorway, smiling at them. He entered the room and nodded, reaching over to shake Hiro's hand, which was, by now, ALMOST completely without an awkward aftermath. Arashi smiled slightly down at Yukari, and began to give her his hand to shake as well when she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Arashi laughed nervously and returned her hug.   
  
Soon Alice (in green) and Erika (looking a bit uncomfortable in a white dress when she usually wore plaid pants and too-big t-shirts) came into the room and there were more hugs and presents to be exchanged. Mikako and her husband entered and shook hands with Yukari and her handsome, doctor fiancé. The former model couldn't help but smile at how perfect this all was. Though her brother and mother were everything they should be, these people were unmistakably her family too.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After an hour of drinks and light conversation, Miwako came into the room with more hors d'oeuvres. Erika sat on the rug, eyeing the presents in front of the Christmas tree and Alice argued with her mother about drinking some of the wine Yukari and Hiro had brought.   
  
"But Mom!" She protested.   
  
"Ah-ah..." Mikako shook her head. "When you're still living in my house, there'll be none. Not even at Christmas parties." Alice looked dejected for a moment or so and then began to peruse the new finger food. Yukari grinned and felt Hiro's hand slip into hers. Lightly, she placed her head on his shoulder, but was soon shaken out of her trance when the doorbell rang.   
  
"Ah... Can someone else get that?!" Miwako called from the kitchen where she held two more plates of food and was trying to fend off the kittens that meowed for a treat. "I've got my hands full!"   
  
Yukari called, "Got it!" and stood up from the couch, catching only the end of Arashi's sentence as he told Hiro about his job. The former model tucked her dark hair behind one ear before she pulled open the door and gasped in pleasant surprise.   
  
"ISABELLA!"   
  
"CARRIE!"   
  
Yukari laughed and hugged the other former Parakiss member. Isabella's hair was fastened back with small tendrils falling over her barely-aged face. Her dress was hidden under a white fur coat but it appeared to be white as well with a crystal pattern dusted here and there. Yukari giggled with delight, having not seen Isabella for years and never expecting to see her here tonight.   
  
"I'm so glad you're here!"   
  
"Well, Miwako tried to let us know by telegram," she giggled, "How formal... But we didn't get it until just the other night. It was a trip to get back here in time. Sorry we're a little late."   
  
//We?// Yukari opened her mouth to ask this question when she heard, "ISABELLA!" from close behind her.   
  
"MIWAKO!" was Isabella's reply and the entire scene was played over with the pink-haired young mother in Yukari's place. Yukari tried to smile but she wondered insanely about "we"... Finally, as if a fog had lifted, she remembered. Isabella had left to go to Paris... with...   
  
A light chuckle and the soft words, "Hello, Yukari..." finished her thoughts for her.   
  
"GEORGE!" Miwako squealed with delight and hugged him. George kneeled down and held Miwako. Yukari could only stare at him, silent, not knowing what she'd say even if she could have spoken.   
  
More time passed and the party was beginning to get quiet. Yukari looked over at Hiro who had fallen into a light doze, wine glass still upright in his palm. She smiled, knowing he'd been working all day and took the glass, sipping lightly and listening to Isabella's voice, like a bell, ringing through the room.   
  
"I can't believe you're a mother, Miwako..." She tossed a loving glance toward Erika who was curled up in Alice's lap on a nearby chair. Both had fallen asleep and Erika sucked her thumb.   
  
"I know..." sighed Miwako, thoughtfully pinning a stray piece of pink hair behind her ear. "She looks so much like Arashi; it's amazing."   
  
Arashi laughed, "I suppose she does..."   
  
"She also got your fashion sense..." Yukari smiled. "Miwako says she hates wearing dresses and likes vintage rock band t-shirts."   
  
"This week it's the Clash," grinned Arashi. "Bloody brill."   
  
"Well, I'm partial to the Ramones..." Isabella said thoughtfully. Soon, the conversation turned to new, Japanese designers and Yukari realized that George hadn't said anything on a topic he would have surely enjoyed. She looked around, not finding him and suddenly noticed a lone figure in a blue, tailored suit standing in front of the Christmas tree and sipping wine. She stood discreetly and went to him. No one noticed, save Miwako, who bit her lip and turned away, hoping the conversation went well.   
  
"George..."   
  
He turned from his place at the tree and saw her standing there so awkwardly, her hands clamped behind her back, her eyes creased with worry. A smile he couldn't help played over his features and he reached out to her, being reminded of how he'd reached for her after her walk down the runway the day of the Yaza Arts fashion show.   
  
"Yukari..."   
  
She smiled, a little more at ease, and stepped toward him. "How are you?"   
  
"Fine..." He nodded. "Rich and successful... All on my own..." He laughed. "Well done for a rich little bon-bon like myself, huh?"  
  
"You weren't a bon-bon..." She smiled and giggled a little.   
  
"Oh, so NOW I'm not..." There was a comforting pause and George turned back to the tree. Yukari's eyes fell over the green leaves, the bright lights, the tiny angels and fairies that donned the tinsel-covered branches.   
  
"It's beautiful."   
  
"You're more beautiful." She turned to him, hardly startled by the memories of their past that rushed back. But she had to say something first.   
  
"George--"   
  
"No, I understand." George's eyes flickered over Hiro who sat silently on the couch. "I know the two of you are..."   
  
"We are..."   
  
"I'm happy for you..."   
  
"Thank you..."   
  
"Of course..."   
  
Another silence passed, this one longer and slightly awkward. Finally, Yukari looked up at George and smiled at him, saying what she'd wanted to say for ten years and never realizing how much it really meant.   
  
"I've missed you..."   
  
George's blue eyes swept over her like a familiar ice storm and his arm wrapped about her shoulders to bring her face against his neck. He still smelled of cologne. They paused again, Yukari trying to control her soft tears and George wondering if he felt ones of his own fogging his vision. Suddenly, he said,  
  
"I made that dress."   
  
"I know..." Yukari looked down at the black, slinky gown she wore, smiling. "I was wondering when you'd say that..."   
  
He looked over her, over the dress, seeming to be examining its worth again with his eyes, and grinned. "I'm still a genius..."   
  
She laughed and shook her head, "You'll never change."   
  
"Have you?" He asked quietly.   
  
After a long time, she answered, "In some ways, yes... Others..." She swallowed her tears and continued, "I'll always be the same girl who fell into your arms at the end of the runway."   
  
George smiled, kissing her lightly on the forehead before he whispered, "And in some ways, I'll always be there to catch you."   
  
They could say no more as they both continued to stare into the burning lights of the Christmas tree.   
  
*~Sanura~* 


End file.
